Three Ways to Run from an Esper

Part 4

    Yoo Joonghyuk's POV:
   
      YJ couldn't help but feel a sense of relief after the collar locked around Dokja's neck. His esper instincts were still screaming at him to bond, but at least he felt a little less anxious knowing it was near impossible for another esper to steal Dokja away.
     The collar can only be unlocked with Joonghyuk's powers. That is why he needed an S class collar as opposed to the lower class ones that just use keys, thumbprints, or voice recognition.
    The store clerk was correct, the simple black metal did look amazing against Dokja's pale neck.
YJ also felt a sense of primal possessive satisfaction with the collar. He hadn't expected to have such tendencies, but with Dokja he was discovering a whole new side of himself that was not only possessive, but a bit sadistic. He couldn't help but love when Dokja got embarrassed and blushed bright red. He also loved Dokja's temper and sass, even when it was being used against him.
     There was a fine balance he had to keep between allowing Dokja to be himself and also establishing rules that he wouldn't allow his guide to break. Upon exiting the equipment room, he began explaining the rules of being a guide to Dokja.
    "This floor is entirely devoted to guide equipment. Most of it is defense equipment, but there are a few weapons guides are allowed to keep for self protection. It obviously is not needed with me around, but if it would make you feel better feel free to use my card to purchase any equipment you may need. Your collar is connected to my bank account and can be scanned to pay for things. Don't worry about a limit. I'm confident I can afford anything you may need.
    Upon saying this he couldn't help but notice an evil gleam in Dokja's eyes. The guide was clearly thinking up ways on how he could blow through as much money as possible. YJ shrugged, if it made his guide happy he was fine with stupid spending habits.
     "Since you are new to guiding you will need to take the introduction classes. Miss Sangah will take the intro course for espers. It will be a good time for both of you to get acquainted with other members of the guild. You should stay away from espers though. Like I said, you are not to guide anyone but me. If anyone tries to force you, tell me immediately and I will see to it they never bother you again."
    He lead Dokja to the door of the classroom and hesitated before leaving. He really didn't want to let the guide out of his site, but he still had his duties as an esper and guild leader and he knew being smothering would only make Dokja reject him more.
    "After you finish your class, report to me directly at my office. Don't go anywhere without telling me. Here." He said, handing Dokja a new cell phone.
   "My number is already in the contacts. If you need me for anything just call. If I contact you I expect you to answer."
    "I already have a phone." Dokja said, holding up an old flip phone.
   "This one is standard issue for guides. It comes with automatic notifications when an esper is in need of guiding. Your collar also has that feature, but I figured you would prefer getting notifications from a phone rather than having an alarm go off from your collar while you're in public." YJ smirked
    Dokja begrudgingly grabbed the phone.
    "Oh, it also comes with unlimited book downloads on Amazon books." YJ said with a wave before setting off.
   He glanced back to see a small look of happiness as Dokja looked at the E-book feature of the phone.
    It was rare to see him smile, he would have to work harder to see that more.

Dokja's POV:

     Dokja couldn't help but be pleased with the unlimited books feature of his new phone. It was the only reason he didn't just smash the damn thing and pretend it was an accident, well, he also didn't want to have an alarm go off on this stupid collar either.
    He opened the door to the classroom and found a few rows of desks with only one other person sitting there.
    She was a girl who looked only a little younger than Dokja, with short black hair and wearing all black attire. She leaned back in her chair with her feet resting on the desk.
    "What's up?" The girl greeted bluntly
     "Are you a guide?" Dokja asked, he knew it was a stupid question considering it was the intro to guiding course, but he was surprised to see someone around his own age taking it.
Most people took this course when they first awakened, normally in high school and after completing it they began working as a guide. He wondered if this girl had a similar situation to his own.
    "Sure am. You ready for this dumbass lecture about our "proper place in the world?"" She asked sarcastically.
    Dokja let out a sigh and slumped into a seat next to her.
   "I guess that means you're not here of your own free will either." He sighed
    "What kinda idiot would become a guide willingly? The only people who do that are naive kids who don't know any better or shallow brats who would rather get pampered than have any free will."
      Dokja could tell this girl was annoyed by the system, but she didn't seem necessarily angry either. She was very blunt which he appreciated.
     "The names Han Sooyoung. You?" She asked
     "Kim Dokja. Nice to meet you." He smiled
     "Dokja huh? That's a unique name."
     "I get that a lot."
    He was about to ask her how she got here, but before he could the door swung open and an elderly lady with white hair came in.
     "Well what do I have here? Two new rebel guides taking my class today I see. My name is Lee Boksun, and I'll be your guiding instructor." She said with a strange warmth.
      Dokja and Sooyoung glanced at each other, both wondering why someone who looked like they should be well into retirement would be teaching this kind of class.
     "I bet I can already guess what you two young folk think this class is for. You think this old lady is gonna spend the next few hours yapping on about how all guides have a responsibility to look after espers and that you must put your civic duty above your own wants and desires."
    "Is that not what this class is?" Han Sooyoung asked in suspicion.
     "Oh dear, I suppose that is what the organization wants me to teach. But I find there's much better ways to teach. Let me ask you this, who do you think holds the power in an esper-guide relationship?"
    "Isn't the answer kinda obvious? The esper literally dragged us here and have legal authority over us." Sooyoung said with a huff
     "Maybe legally, but which one of you would be in more trouble without the other? Which one relies on the other for survival? There's a reason espers are so desperate for guides and why the law traps guides in such restrictive ways. But what if I told you there's ways you can use your position to your advantage?"
     Both of the young guides raised their eyebrows, this was not what they expected from this class at all.
     "It's true espers hold a lot of power, but if you are clever and cunning, you can get an esper to bend to your will instead. Always keep in mind that espers, no matter how strong they may appear, are at the mercy of guides."
     "But what about forced guiding?" Dokja asked, "Espers don't have to listen to us when they can force what they want from us."
    "Forced guiding does not work for bonded pairs. If an esper and a guide have a high compatibility, the esper will be unable to hurt the guide or force guiding from them. It's a secret few people know, since espers don't want to let others know of any weakness."
     "So you're saying having high compatibility with an esper actually makes a guide safer?" Han Sooyoung asked
    "Well that still depends on the type of person the esper is. They can still act violently towards you, but an esper that wants to bond with a guide would be far less likely to hurt or abuse their guide. Mr. Kim, I heard of your situation and I would greatly advise you to use your status to your advantage. Don't let Mr. Yoo push you around when you have such leverage over him."
      Dokja was shocked by this woman's way of thinking. What leverage could she be talking about? Ever since he met Joonghyuk he had been clambering for the upper hand.
     "So does this mean we should care about compatibility tests? I thought only espers needed to care about that." Sooyoung said
     "You should try to find an esper with a high compatibility for your own sake. Of all the cases of forced guiding and guide abuse on record, the vast majority of them have been from espers and guides with low compatibility. It hurts the guide and makes the esper have less of an emotional attachment to the guide. Compatibility isn't just about power levels, but the relationship and feelings between the two people in the relationship."
    Dokja had never heard any of this before. He thought compatibility was all for espers to find a guide that made them feel good, he never knew it could be beneficial to the guide as well. He was still slightly on guard, wondering if this old lady was trying to trick them into being ok with their status as guides.
     "To summarize what I'm trying to say, I know that being a guide in this society sucks, but use any means at your disposal to make your life better, and don't let those arrogant espers push you around or look down on you." She winked at the two confused guides.
"The Skybreaker guild has some rules for guides that they want me to go over with you. I will, but I'll also be adding some helpful information. The first rule is that guides are not permitted to leave the guild without an esper escort. I see one of you has a collar that probably has a GPS function. The guild issued phones also contain a GPS. This is how they keep track of where you are at all times. However, I happen to have stumbled across a security code that can deactivate a guild GPS. So if you're ever in the need for some fresh air, please feel free to give me a call at any time."
Dokja and Sooyoung were shocked. To think a guild instructor would actually be on their side.
"I recommend writing down my number and taking notes on the following information, but make sure you keep this info hidden, and once you have it memorized, erase it."
They both began taking notes as Ms. Lee explained the guild rules and all the ways to break them secretly.
"Now as for guiding, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I've learned from countless years as a guide. Did you know that you can actually push back against forced guiding?" Ms Lee asked
"Really? Why have I never heard of this before?" Sooyoung asked incredulously.
"Like I said previously, most espers don't want guides to know of the power they have over them."
"In order to fight a forced guiding session, hold back all your energy to its breaking point, it will hurt, but when you let loose all your energy it will be like a dam breaking, flooding the esper with power and energy that he can't handle, resulting in the esper passing out, or in severe cases even dying."
"They can be killed by a guide?" Sooyoung said in a shocked whisper.
Something about this conversation made Dokja feel uncomfortable. Like there was something hidden away in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite grasp.
"You should only use this method as a last resort. I know you two probably have plenty of reasons to hate espers, but please realize that resorting to killing should only be used on the absolute worst of them."
"Have you ever used that method?" Sooyoung asked curiously.
The old woman seemed to get lost in an old memory for a moment before smiling.
"I think that's enough for today. Please remember to keep the extra information I shared with you between us. You are scheduled to be in this class for the next two hours, but I may have taken it upon myself to fix your GPS locations to this room for that time period. Feel free to explore the guild or outside without fear of repercussions. If anyone tries to stop you, have them call me and I'll let them know you are simply running an errand on behalf of this elderly guiding instructor."
Dokja was amazed with this woman. He suddenly felt like he wasn't so alone here.
"Finally, I've been stuck in the unbonded guide barracks for two weeks now. It will be nice to get outside for a change." Sooyoung stretched her arms as she got up.
"You're not bonded?" Dokja asked surprised.
"Nope. I've been in hiding since high school, but two weeks ago the Skybreaker guild came to my doorstep out of nowhere. I don't know how they found out about me, I thought I'd covered my tracks pretty well. Anyway, they threw me in the unbonded guide barracks and told me to "wait for my esper." Whatever that means. Then today they said I had to take this class and I would be taking a compatibility test later this afternoon. At first I didn't really care much because I figured I'd be treated the same no matter what the test said. But after taking this class I'm actually hoping for high compatibility percentage. What about you? I don't think thats just a fashion accessory around your neck." Sooyoung said as she pointed to the metal collar.
"Have you not watched the news for the past two months?" He was shocked she didn't already know considering his face was plastered over all news networks.
"I don't really watch the news." She shrugged
"Well, I got myself involved with a powerful esper, his names Yoo Joonghyuk."
"WHAT!?" Sooyoung shouted.
"I thought you said you didn't watch the news? How do you know his name?"
"I said I don't watch the news, not that I live under a rock. Joonghyuk's the strongest esper in all of Korea, and one of the most famous in the entire world! What kind of idiot would get caught in his radar?!"
"Gee thanks. This idiot didn't know who he was when we met. He helped me and my friend when a black gate suddenly appeared. He looked about to rampage so I felt like I owed him, and well... you can guess the rest." Dokja said with a tired shrug.
"No, I don't want to guess the rest. It's almost lunchtime. Let's go get something to eat and you can tell me the whole story. Don't leave out any details. I love a good story." Sooyoung said as she dragged Dokja by the arm to the elevator.
Normally Dokja would agree, stories are great, except when they're about him.
They went to a Korean BBQ joint a few blocks away from the guild. They were almost stopped by security on the way out, but after a quick call to Ms. Lee, they were allowed out without an escort.
"I appreciate Ms Lee for helping us out, but it's still so annoying that we are treated like little kids when we're grown adults." Sooyoung complained as she shoveled food into her mouth.
They sat and talked for a while, Dokja began telling his story, but the tone suddenly shifted and he couldn't tell why.
He had just started explaining how Sangah helped keep the leviathan distracted so he could run for it.
"Are you ok?" He asked Sooyoung as her expression grew shocked and then quickly changed to an obviously fake smile.
"Yeah, keep going. I want to hear the rest."
Dokja hesitated for a moment before continuing. It seemed like Sooyoung wore a guarded expression for the rest of the story. She didn't say a word until he completed his story after explaining the deal he made with Joonghyuk to wear the collar instead of bonding and then being sent to the class.
"And that's when I met you." He finished
"Man, and I thought I was unlucky. You really have a problem with self-sacrifice. If it was me I would have ditched those people and gotten away as fast as possible. What good is having friends if you just wind up in a worse situation cause of them."
"Hey! It wasn't their fault! If anything, I'm the one who put them in danger by leading Joonghyuk to them."
"Yeah yeah, first you guide an esper just because he looks a little ill, then you give yourself up after running halfway across the world in order to save people you just met two months ago. Has anyone ever told you that you have a savior complex? That's gonna be your undoing one of these days." Sooyoung said as she sipped her drink.
Dokja just shrugged. He didn't think of himself as a savior. He was only doing the bare minimum to get by and not let the people around him get hurt.
"Well, I suppose we have to start making our way back. The two hour time limits almost up and I'm supposed to report for my compatibility test... you said your friend Sangah is supposed to get one today too?"
"That's what Joonghyuk said, but Sangah doesn't want a guide. I told her she should just leave but she doesn't want to abandon me. I feel bad that she's stuck in this situation because of me."
"Cheer up, maybe the guide she gets won't mind." Sooyoung said with a suspiciously optimistic tune.
"Yeah... maybe..."
Dokja couldn't tell what made Sooyoung so optimistic all of a sudden, but she was now eager to get back to the guild.
They made their way back and upon entering the building Dokja found Joonghyuk fuming at the entrance.
"Why did you go out?! I thought you were supposed to be in class! The security guard said you were running an errand for the instructor? I could have gotten someone else to do that. Two unaccompanied guides going out alone is just asking for trouble!"
Dokja rolled his eyes at the esper's anger. This man was way too serious.
"As you can see, we are fine." Dokja said with an exasperated sigh.
"Ms. Han, please make your way up to the testing center to match your compatibility. I have a feeling you will receive great results." Joonghyuk said as he grabbed Dokja's arm.
"I want to go with her." Dokja said as he yanked his arm away.
"You already made friends with this guide in the few hours you've known her? Why am I not surprised?" Joonghyuk quipped.
"Fine. We'll go too."
They made their way back up to the testing center.
When they entered the room Sangah was already sitting in one of the chairs waiting.
As soon as she saw them she seemed shocked, then she suddenly stood up and made a break for the exit.
Two security guards grabbed her and forced for back into her chair.
"WHY IS SHE HERE?!" Sangah shouted as she wrestled with the guards.
Dokja looked between Sangah and Sooyoung with bewilderment. He thought back to the way Sooyoung reacted to his story. They must have a history together.
"Calm down." Joonghyuk said as he glared at Sangah.
"When I looked into your background I found a school record. It said you got into a fight with a classmate. Considering your spotless record I thought I should look into it. Imagine my surprise when I found Han Sooyoung, an unregistered guide." Joonghyuk explained calmly. "You should be thanking me. I've reunited you with your guide."
Sangah snarled while Sooyoung just seemed frozen in shock.
"Let's conduct the test." Joonghyuk prompted the scientists.
"Please sit in the chair next to Miss Yoo. You will both grab onto the metal bars and let your energy flow naturally." A researcher directed Sooyoung.
They started the test and both women seemed to avoid eye contact with each other.
"Here are the results ma'am." The researcher gave the paper to Sangah and she seemed like she was about to pass out.
Joonghyuk grabbed the paper after waiting a few moments for her to say anything.
"I knew it. 95% compatibility. One of the highest scores on record. Other than me and Dokja obviously." Joonghyuk smiled, but both Sangah and Sooyoung still sat silently avoiding each other.
Finally Sangah muttered out, "you shouldn't have brought her here. She has nothing to do with me."
Joonghyuk frowned. "You are an esper and she is your guide. The sooner you both come to terms with that, the better off your lives will be. Come on Dokja, let's go."
"Wait...I..." Dokja wanted to stay and comfort his old and new friend, and ask them about their past, but he knew this wasn't the right time.
He followed Joonghyuk out of the room.

Han Sooyoung's POV:
 
      She couldn't believe it. When she heard Dokja's story she knew it had to be her, but she still couldn't believe she was now sitting right next to her. With a 95% compatibility score no less!
     She didn't know what to say to her, so they both sat in silence even after YJ and Dokja left.
     "I'll get you out of this." Sangah finally broke the silence as she looked up wearily.
     "What?" Sooyoung asked
     "I won't force you to guide me, and I'll find a way to get you out of here." She reassured.
     Han Sooyoung was stunned. If she had been told that by any other esper she probably wouldn't have believed them, but she knew Sangah meant it.
     "What if I don't want to leave?" Sooyoung asked.
    Even she couldn't believe what she just said. Sangah looked shocked as well.
    "I thought you didn't want to be a guide?" Sangah asked
     "Yeah well, I'm kinda tired of living in hiding, and there's a lot of worse options for an esper than my high school best friend." Sooyoung shrugged, trying to appear casual.
    In truth, she was happy to see Sangah again. It had been so long, and they had parted on such bad terms. She was afraid they would never get the opportunity to talk again.
     "About what happened back then.... I know it won't fix anything, but I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry." Sangah said with a sad sincerity in her voice.
     Sooyoung snorted, "have you been beating yourself up about that for all these years?"
    Sangah looked taken aback.
    "Look. You may have frightened me back then, but I'm a big girl now, and so are you. We both know that espers have a hard time controlling themsleves when they first awaken, and it happened so suddenly that neither one of us could have been prepared. You didn't hurt me on purpose, you stopped the forced guiding as soon as you saw I was in pain."
     It was still a tough memory to think about. Two high school best friends torn apart by an unexpected awakening and a near rampage that resulted in forced guiding. The look of fear in Sangah's eyes when her mind became clear is something Sooyoung would never forget.
    Before she had a chance to assure Sangah she was alright, a teacher came in and pulled them apart. Sangah has quickly made up a lie that they had gotten into a fight over something stupid. Both of them knew they didn't want to be found out as guide and esper.
     Sangah's parents had transferred her to a new school shortly after. They never saw each other again until now.
       "How about we pretend that day never happened. Start fresh." Sooyoung proposed
     "How can you say that! I hurt you! I was so selfish!" Sangah argued
     "You were a confused fifteen year old who wasn't in their right mind." Sooyoung countered
      "I'm not some helpless damsel that needs protecting. I'm making my own decision this time. I want to stay with you, if you'll let me."
      Sangah seemed hesitant at first, but she gave a small nod.
    "Great." Sooyoung stood up and clapped her hands as if marking the decision as final.
    She reached out her hand and helped Sangah stand up.
     "You're looking a little pale, need some guiding?" Sooyoung asked
      Sangah quickly let go of her hand.
     "I'm good, see you later." She said as she quickly left the room.
      "Sigh, this is gonna be a long process." Sooyoung said as she followed her out of the room.

Yoo Sangah's POV:

     She hurried down the hall and onto the elevator, allowing the doors to close before Sooyoung could follow.
     "What is happening? Why is she so calm about all this?" Sangah wondered as the elevator brought her back up to the esper living quarters.
     She made her way back to her room and flopped into the bed.
      "Has she been brainwashed by the center?" Sangah wondered in paranoia. "How could she possibly forgive me so easily?"
      She layed there pondering what to do for what felt like hours before someone knocked on her door.
    She opened it to find Joonghyuk standing there with his usual stern expression.
     "I came here to inform you that you and Han Sooyoung will be moving in to the guilds partner suites together."
     "What? But I'm fine here."
     "The barracks are only used for guides and espers that haven't found a partner. The living arrangement for partners is much nicer and ensures you always have access to guiding. Han Sooyoung has already been informed. She's moving her belongings now. Here's the access card." He said as he handed her the card.
      "By the way, I advise bonding with her as soon as possible or at the very least getting a collar for her. You'll regret it if anyone takes her away from you."
     With that final warning he left Sangah standing in the doorway.